STEPHENVILLE – Iyana Dorsey added another chapter to her historic freshman offensive season for Tarleton women's basketball, nearly lifting the Texans to a 15-point comeback victory over UTRGV on Friday in Wisdom Gym. 

The 5-6 guard scored 21 of her career-high 22 points in the second half in a 62-56 defeat to the Vaqueros. Dorsey rattled off nine points between the third and fourth quarters as a part of a 12-2 run that got Tarleton within one point of UTRGV at 49-48 with 8:10 left. 

Dorsey knocked down her 49th and 50th 3-point field goals midway through the third quarter to ignite Tarleton's comeback bid. The Texans trailed 34-19 to begin the second half but Dorsey's pair of triples trimmed the Vaqueros' lead to 39-30. 

The Saginaw, Texas native's 50 made 3-point field goals continue to lead the Western Athletic Conference. Dorsey connected on 8-9 attempts at the foul line to move into a tie for the league lead in free throw percentage (82.8) alongside UTRGV's Amara Graham, who led all scorers with 23 points. 

The Texans (8-16, 3-10 WAC) 12-2 scoring spurt in the fourth quarter was capped by a three-point play by Dorsey. She later hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game and half with 1:33 remaining to keep Tarleton within a possession of UTRGV at 58-56. 

Ultimately, Dorsey's shot from behind the arc proved to be Tarleton's last. The Texans had a chance to tie or take the lead with 30 seconds remaining but turned the ball over on an inbounds play at midcourt. The Vaqueros (6-12, 2-7 WAC) then hit 1-2 free throws on the ensuing possession before a 3-point attempt by Marissa Escamilla at the top of the key with 10 seconds do go clanged off the back iron. UTRGV then iced the game with three more makes at the charity stripe. 

Escamilla matched Dorsey with 22 points and notched the fourth double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 10 rebounds. Dorsey, Escamilla and Jayci Morton (7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) accounted for all-but-five of Tarleton's points scored. For Dorsey, it marked the 20th time this season that she has scored in double figures and 13th game in which she tallied 15-or-more points.  

But a single, troublesome quarter unseated Tarleton for the third consecutive game. The Texans were outscored 16-5 by the Vaqueros in the second quarter after playing to a 14-14 draw through the game's first 10 minutes. The Texans made just five first-half field goals and entered the intermission having turned the ball over five times on their final six possessions. 

Tarleton played its third home game in four nights. The Texans fell to Utah Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday and were outscored by double digits in the third and first quarters, respectively, in both defeats. 

Graham was a thorn in the Texans side all night. The graduate transfer drained a pair of NBA-range 3-point field goals as a part of an eight-point first quarter and hit a buzzer-beater from downtown to close the first half and stake UTRGV to its first double-digit lead of the evening. She ripped off seven straight points in the third quarter following Dorsey's 50th 3-pointer of the season to boost the Vaqueros' edge to 46-34. 

Tarleton forced 18 UTRGV turnovers but was bested 44-33 on the glass. The Texans had just seven players enter the game for the second consecutive outing. 

Preferred walk-on Hailey Ibarra made her first career start at point guard in place of Kandyn Faurie, who missed her second straight game. Ibarra, from Glen Rose, Texas, gave Tarleton 26 minutes as its primary ballhandler and helped facilitate open looks for Dorsey and Escamilla. 

The loss was Tarleton's fourth consecutive defeat. The Texans conclude their season with a rubber match vs. UTRGV at 7 p.m. on Saturday inside Wisdom Gym. Tarleton defeated the Vaqueros 79-63 in Edinburg on Jan. 27.